Beyond the Future

P.J. Hammel is a professor of Education at the University of
Saskatchewan.

“During a nuclear explosion, certain particles move through time. . .
. When the thermonuclear missiles were hit by antimissiles and exploded
in space, the photonic shock wave, the blinding light that we saw, was
so intense that we were swept along by a tidal wave of these particles.
A tidal wave so powerful that it propelled our space ship at a speed
greater than that of the Earth’s rotation, so much that we travelled
in time.” Thus Massé explains what happens to three astronauts whose
shuttle is blasted into space on June 20, 1995, landing some 25 years
later in a post-nuclear world that has changed beyond imagination. The
three (a woman and two men) are confronted by hostile
Irradiates—“mutants, not really humans any longer.” The two men
are captured and the woman is wounded. By chance, a patrol ship from
Australia finds the wounded woman. Subsequently, the men are rescued
from certain death at the hands of the Irradiates; the wounded astronaut
is cured; twin sisters are united; and love develops—all as the
underground Australian city is almost destroyed by an earthquake.

Very little information is offered to indicate the nature of the Young
Readers’ Library series; reference to two other titles suggests that
it comprises stories of the fantastic future. In this book, 13
chapters—each consisting of three sections to indicate changes in time
or setting and an epilogue take up only 102 pages, making the story
episodic and choppy. An uneven reading level complicated by technical,
futuristic terminology make it difficult to suggest a specific audience.
The preteen science-fiction/fantasy enthusiast will read this work in
less than and hour and will be looking for more.